It’s Monday so life could be better, but I somehow pulled out a two on Wordle this morning so things aren’t all bad.
Written on some other Monday. Today, 5/6.
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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
Some Other Monday
Posted in Funny, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, writing on October 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Apropos of Nothing
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on October 1, 2022| 1 Comment »
This is a place I would like to visit. The colors! The drama! The stratigraphy!
Agree to (Mostly) Agree
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Growing up, we were taught to give books the first sentence test. If that first sentence drew us in we’d move on to the first paragraph. I consider that mindset excellent training for authors running the editorial gauntlet.
Here are a few examples of good openers. While I may not love every one, it’s a good collection, made even more useful by the side-by-side comparison with other great literature.
Literature’s greatest opening paragraphs – the best opening lines in novels
As with pubs and shoes, you know you’re reading a great book from the second you’re inside it.
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What You Can, Where You Are
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Jo Miles, Nature's Futures, Writers, writing on September 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My afternoon disappeared with a giant sucking sound, so please enjoy this story about hope, the power of community, and doing what you can where you are.
Her branches reach for the stars (Jo Miles in Nature: Futures)
Lieutenant Auri Murr knew the exact moment when her grandmother died.
She was on duty in engineering when Grandma Shanna’s dappu-wood bead on her kin-necklace cracked: a sharp, dry, quiet sound, unmistakable to anyone from Darmindu Colony. It could have woken Auri from a sound sleep.
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The British Queen and an American Duke
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Duke Ellington, jazz, Queen Elizabeth II, that pesky muse, Thoughts on September 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
As the world says goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, here’s an interesting story I’d never heard before, starring the British queen and an American duke.
When Duke Ellington Made a Record for Just One Person—Queen Elizabeth
By early 1959, the finished work was ready for performance. The Queen’s Suite was now a 20-minute work in six movements. The band recorded it over the course of three sessions in February and April 1959. A single golden disc was made, and sent to Buckingham Palace.
Now we can listen to it, too.
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One Step at a Time
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I drafted a drabble. I drafted a haiku. I drafted another drabble. None of these pieces are ready to share, so instead I’ll leave you with this back-to-school story from Fireside ok, that was too scary so I’ll just go submit a story to an anthology!
Such is the writing life.
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Daily Recommended Dose
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, Writers on September 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.”
— Zig Ziglar
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A Good Lesson
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Ken Liu, Uncanny Magazine, Writers, writing on August 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I’m apparently out of practice balancing the day job with other things. I also spent a good part of my day interfacing with computers, so while I relearn time-management skills, here’s a story from Ken Liu.
/can’t find the story
/now where is that link hiding?
/AI help needed!
Ah, here we are.
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know – Uncanny Magazine
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Taking My Own Advice
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
For the past few days, my inbox has been filling up with emails on advice to writers. You know the type: listicles with “What every writer should know” and “Top ten tips for writers,” that sort of thing. That’s fine as far as it goes, and depending on your progress as a writer, many of these comments may very well be useful.
Still, I can’t help thinking that my own advice would be both shorter and more broadly applicable. (And yes, when it comes to recommendations like this I am my own best customer.)
You can’t finish what’s not started.
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The Trick
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.”
― Ray Bradbury
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J.R. Johnson 
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